LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AUGUST 30th 2012

Shades of Green and Brown for Tuam Dear Editor, The appeals have been lodged to An Bord Pleanala for the proposed Anaerobic Digestion Plant in Tuam. I can't help but wonder if some of the people of Tuam really understand the implications of such a plant being located so near the town, or indeed if they understand what an Anaerobic Digestion Plant is. More importantly still, do they understand the difference between a Closed Loop Anaerobic Digester and a Centralised CoDigestion Plant (which is what is being proposed).[private] In fairness why would they, it's not an everyday topic of conversation! Even more baffling though, is the notion that those who do know the difference are staying remarkably silent about it all. They may all very well wake up one day to smell â€â€ well, not the coffee this time, but to the smell of cattle slurry, pig slurry, chicken slurry, abattoir waste and worse, as it makes its way in lorryloads to the plant in Airglooney. It would be very erroneous to think that the proposed plant will only concern the residents of Airglooney, Kilcloghans and Ballygaddy Road. When the wind blows in the wrong direction the waking up could indeed be very nauseating for anyone in its path, or worse still, should one happen to stop at the traffic lights behind one of the many malodorous transporters that will inevitably grace our town on its smelly path to the plant. And then the real issues for concern will emerge: Air Pollution, Ground Pollution, River Pollution, Dangerous Gas emissions, Storage of highly combustible Methane Gas etc. What will be particularly rude about the awakening is the that fact that Tuam will have been designated as a Green Hub Town intercepting waste from counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. All of this is supposedly done in the interest of a cleaner and green environment and in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. By then of course Tuam will have changed colour from its present shade of Green to a nasty shade of Brown. Anyone concerned can lodge an observation to An Bord Pleanala before the morning of September 3. The cost is €50 per observation but this cost can be shared with other observers. Yours etc. Mary McDonagh Airglooney-Kilcloghans Tuam Regular visitor concerned about Miller's House Dear Editor, For the past 47 years, I have delighted in visiting Tuam and walking through the familiar sites of this historic town with four generations of my family. This year, however, I am dismayed by the changes I have encountered in the area of the Palace Grounds. These have rendered unrecognisable the location of some of our favourite haunts: the area of the stone bridge in Shop Street; the Miller's House, effectively demolished; and the entrance into the Palace Grounds from Bishop Street. I am saddened by the felling of trees and the destruction of fine stone walls that were integral to the fabric of this part of town. The hastily erected precast concrete slabs by the bridge and the oppressive fencing throughout the development are entirely out of keeping with the fine stonemasonry and aesthetic considerations of generations of past craftsmen. In view of this unsympathetic outcome, I am concerned about the manner of the reconstruction of the miller's house and its future function in the civic life of Tuam. Yours sincerely, Marika Zeimbekis Bristol Forgotten Irish policemen Dear Editor, The retired Gardai involved are to be congratulated for their timely initiative in commemorating our forgotten policemen, 80,000 of whom served in the RIC before it was disbanded in 1922. The unarmed DMP (Dublin Metropolitan Police) was never disbanded but amalgamated with the Garda in 1925. Collins rightly drew on their experience when establishing his advisory committee on the Gardai in 1922 Nine South Tipperary Irish Volunteers in January 1919 led by Dan Breen, whom I met, and Sean Treacy, buried beside my grandparents in Kilfeakle Cemetery, decided to launch a war with no mandate or necessity, and with no authority, or even knowledge, on the part of their own national GHQ, or the newly-elected TDs, and slew two decent local middle-aged Catholic policemen, one a widower. Like the seven conspirators on the secret IRB Military Committee in 1916, who even acted without the knowledge of the IRB leadership, power was again seized in 1919 by a few totally unaccountable gunmen. It is time to redress the balance, and at last truly 'cherish ALL the children of the nation'. If Queen Elizabeth can lay a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance, then all Irish people can also remember our fellow Irishmen slain at the hands of those Volunteers, both in uniform and civilians, including the slain Kerryman, RIC Sgt Con Crean, who was a brother of our famed polar explorer, Royal Navy Petty Officer, Tom Crean. And Tom Barry's father was another decent RIC man. Yours etc, Tom Carew, Ranelagh, Dublin 6[/private]